Klarinet Archive - Posting 001003.txt from 2000/10

From: Sfdr@-----.com
Subj: Re: [kl] Sharp Clarion A, B & C "The Cure"
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 19:43:27 -0400

Sorry my suggestions confused you. Now that I have time, I will try to
clarify my last post.
Alvin Swiney

In a message dated 10/12/00 12:25:59 AM Central Daylight Time,
reedman@-----.com writes:

<< In response to Walter's distress over the sharp upper left hand of his A
clarinet , Alvin Swiney responded:

"Relatively speaking, the A,B, C Are not sharp. Those 3 noted are in tune.
It is the other notes on the instrument that are flat. In other words the
instrument is relatively out of tune within the scale. If you decrease the
size of the A,B,C tone holes, those note will become stuffy and out of tune
in the opposing register. The notes are already sharp so enlarging the tone
hole is not an option."

Huh?
A.S. The A clarinet is longer than the Bb Clarinet. Therefore the barrel of
the A should be longer than the barrel of the Bb clarinet. However the
barrel of the A clarinet is normally 65mm in length as compared to the Bb
clarinet which of normally 66 or 67mm in length. This illogically designed
short barrel is just one of the many problems contributing to the flawed
intonation of the A clarinet.
Prior to World War ll, Buffet A clarinets were designed quite
differently. The instruments were tuned to play at A440 with a 67mm barrel.
This added length allowed the makers to have more room for tuning the throat
tones and the (now sharp) High A, B, and C. I said that the A, B, and C are
in tune and the other notes are flat. When you add the correct barrel, 66 or
67mm, those 3 notes are in are in tune. However the other notes of the
clarinet become flatter in pitch.

And then he also said.

"My suggestion: Leave those notes alone and undercut the other tone
holes to make the instrument play in tune"

Hold the phone. Raising the pitch of all the other notes to match the three
bad tones seems like putting the cart before the horse. Further, raising the
pitch of all the other tones will effectively raise the pitch of the clarinet
into the realm of unusable.

A.S. It is much easier and more logical to raise the pitch of flat notes
through tone hole enlargement and undercutting. When you try to lower
extremely sharp notes such as the High A B and C by placing tape in the tone
holes, the timbre will become stuffy before the pitch becomes flatter. Having
to choose between correct pitch or clear timbre puts the player in a very
awkward situation.

He also posted:

"Try an Extra small reverse bore Moennig barrel to compensate for the
large backbore of your mouthpiece.
The top of the barrel controls the upper register and the lower section
helps
the throat tones. The taper design is critical in the resolution of your
tuning problem."

Yes this will help, but you may not like the way the instrument sounds, plus
the extra small taper will raise the pitch of your throat tones , which may
or may not be desireable.

A. S. The small bore will raise the pitch of the throat tone, but the
longer 66mm barrel will compensate for the pitch increase. As for the
desired sound, no barrel is good enough to compensate for a bad mouthpiece.

Finally Mr. Swiney also stated:

"When tuning, don't pull out any. Instead, Add Tuning rings on the
mouthpiece side of the barrel. The ring will decrease the overall volume of
the bore without horizontal voids or spaces."

How does this ring placement decrease the overall volume of the bore? The
rings essentially lengthen the bore. Using the rings will increase the volume
of the bore and lower the pitch of the problematic area, but will also lowers
the throat tones. Most R-13 A clarinets are flat on throat Bb

A.S. Lengthening the bore with tuning rings is much better than just
pulling out the barrel or mouthpiece 1 or 2 mm.
Rule 1. The longer the barrel the flatter the pitch of the clarinet.
Rule 2. The larger the barrel bore, the sharper the pitch of the left hand
notes.
Without tuning rings you are both lengthening and increasing the volume
of the bore, which is counter productive. By not using tuning rings, The
horizontal voids created between the mouthpiece, barrel, and top joint can
create a totally new set of intonation problems. I would sugest .25 and .50
mm tuning rings between the mouthpiece and barrel. this allows the player to
fine tune the A clarinet at a critical pressure node by using a variety of
ring thickness'.

A, B and C are notoriously sharp on R-13 A clarinets. You can lower them a
bit by using material in the upper side of the tone hole. I agree that there
is not a lot of room for this adjustment because the tone hole is already
small. "A" can usually stand some lowering as the "D" a twelfth below is
usually a bit sharp. "B" is a problem, because the twelfth below "E" is
already low. Same problem with "C/F".

A.S. The use of undercutting is crucial when adjusting the pitch of the
12ths, especially on these three intervals.D-A, E-B, and F-C. Another
problem that undercutting can correct is ascending slur of F2 to Bb2. When
that interval is played softly it will normally crack. Most players will
assume the response problem is being caused by a poor bridge key adjustment,
but the trouble is in the lack of undercutting.

Someone suggested changing register tubes. Was your clarinet ever worked on
by Brannen? His standard fix for the unstable "A" is to shorten the register
tube. He usually shortens them too much (IMO) and this raises the pitch of A.
B and C. The standard length for a Buffet R-13 register tube is .580" I cut
these down to .560" If it is shorter than that, this may be part of your
problem.

A.S. Long register tubes found on new A clarinets can caused the High A, B,
and C to crack or gurgle when played pianissimo. The hour glass shaped tube
that Han's Moennig designed for Robert Marcellus works quite well when
balancing the timbre of the throat tones and lower Pitch of the Left hand
notes.

Try lowering the pad over the vent as low as you can tolerate (just before
the throat Bb becomes too muffled). You can usually lower the pitch of the A,
B and C by 5 cents this way.

A.S. Lowering the pad as a tuning tool is like treating a broken leg with a
Band-Aid. It doesn't work very well. One should never trade the clarity of
the throat tones for the pitch of the High A, B, and C as there are better
remedies for this age old problem.

Finally, Chris Hill suggested boring out the upper bore of your mouthpiece.
This is effective, but will change the feel of any mouthpiece you are
playing. Try it with a blank and then put on the facing. I have noticed this
characteristic (sharpness in the upper left hand) with some of the Zinner
blanks I worked with.

A.S. The cubic volume of the mouthpiece bore can also destroy the pitch
consistency of the clarinet's left hand notes. Like the barrel, If the
mouthpiece is too large, the player is asking for pitch problems. Ideally the
A clarinet mouthpiece should be longer and smaller than the Bb Mouthpiece. I
find that it is major endeavor just to get my customers to use different
barrels on the two clarinets.

I am also in the process of updating my article on tuning the clarinet that
was published in "The Clarinet" in 1986. I hope to have that up in on my
website in the next month as well.

A.S. Great! I will tell all of my friends about it.

Clark w Fobes

>>

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